Naps: the activity that most students partake in, yet still one not recognized by some universities. When people think of naptime, elementary school naps immediately pop into their heads. However, college students also need naps but many times do not have the time nor the space.
App State has two sides of campus: east side and west side, where the west side is far from many different classes or social spaces. If students have less than an hour in between their class, it is difficult to get back to their rooms to take a 30 minute nap, especially if students live off campus. If a student has time to take a small nap in their dorm, there is nothing in their room preventing them from falling back asleep. However, if a student were to use a nap pod in the library or Plemmons Student Union, after the nap, it would be much easier to continue working.
App State should offer nap rooms or nap chairs in the library and upper floors of the student union, so students have the opportunity to sleep without compromising their class schedule.
The University of Akron has nap pods, which are specifically designed so students can fall asleep in an enclosed space. These pods provide music to drown out the sounds around them and a timer to ensure students are able to get a good sleep, without having difficulty continuing on with their day. The alarm is also relatively peaceful, using vibration and lights to wake up even the heaviest of sleepers.
Considering nap pods are only slightly bigger than a reclining chair, these would be easy to implement in the library or on the upper floors of the student union. There are not many obstacles that are stopping colleges from purchasing such easy, accessible tools for students.
An issue App State could blame for not purchasing these chairs is the cost. These nap pods cost anywhere from $8,000-$12,000 to purchase. However, when App State has almost $5 million left over from their 2023-24 budget, one begins to wonder where that money will go — hint hint: sports. They could easily use this money to purchase a few nap pods, which would be pocket change for the university.
Nap pods are also something the university should invest in due to the sheer amount of stress App State has caused people. With the amount of students crammed onto campus due to an 85% acceptance rate, many App State students are constantly fighting for housing, classes, scholarships or university services. This causes everything to easily become much more stressful, when, in hindsight, App State could just not over accept students. However, since App State is not going to be stopping anytime soon, the least they can do is add some more beneficial items for the students that are already enrolled.
There are many statistics out there proving that naps can improve memory and help get any rest a college student did not get the night before. Little 30 minute power naps are incredibly beneficial to anyone who is able to take one. These nap pods are able to give students an opportunity to nap, without the inconvenience of having to go home. Many students could benefit from this, allowing students’ GPAs to go up and giving their mental health a chance to survive the brutal days of the winter. There are too many benefits for the university to ignore, especially since these nap pods are easy to get and App State has the spots around campus to place them.
Katelyn • Feb 4, 2024 at 7:18 pm
I think it would be nice if Leon Levine Hall of Health Sciences got nap pods as well. Because this building is off-campus, having nap pods in Plemmons Student Union and Belk Library would not help the students who take classes there. Although I agree that Plemmons Student Union and Belk Library should get nap pods first, as the majority of students take classes on campus, I think that Leon Levine should also eventually get nap pods.
MuChao • Jan 30, 2024 at 6:52 am
Not that I’m against napping, but back in my day (*cue old curmudgeon voice*) we napped on Sanford Mall when it was nice out, and in the library when it was cold. It seems pretty ridiculous to me to spend so much on some uber-expensive, needlessly over-the-top piece of technology for something as human as taking a nap.
That aside, I can think of far better uses for a $5 million budget surplus, like maybe start giving faculty (and staff!) the pay raises that we’ve been promised ever since Everts took over nearly a decade ago.
You think students have stress? Try working here! Employees here get treated like expendable assets, we get treated like trash. We’re essential to the functioning of the entire university, but you sure wouldn’t know it looking at most employees paychecks, or the condescending, belittling attitude that the administration, esp. Everts, treats us with, like we’re some dirty, ungrateful peasants.
Nearly every pay bump that has been given over the years has been due to the NC General Assembly, *not* by the university/Everts. We’ve got faculty/staff leaving in droves, the *lowest* faculty morale of any UNC-system school, employees on food stamps living paycheck-to-paycheck, many of whom can’t even afford to live in Watauga Co. While leadership at other UNC-system schools have already taken concrete actions to address faculty and staff compensation, AppState has done nothing except talk about it, endlessly talk about it, and give out false hopes and promises. I don’t think that most students truly appreciate/understand just how bad it is here, how utterly demoralizing it is for employees, nor just how much this place is (in many cases *literally*) falling apart at the seams.
Sorry, but there are far more pressing needs at this university than “nap pods.” Grab some headphones and head upstairs to the 3rd/4th floor of the library until it gets warm out. You’ll be fine.